This invention relates to telecommunications apparatus and, in particular, to network interface units and building entrance protector units.
Network interface units are known in the art and one such unit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,440 ('440) of Daoud, and which is herein incorporated by reference. As discussed in the '440 patent, network interface units constitute the demarcation between the customer's equipment and a network such as a telephone or data network. In buildings including multiple subscribers, the network interface unit is typically mounted in a basement and includes an array of customer bridges, each bridge being coupled to an individual subscriber line. The bridges are typically coupled to the phone network through an RJ11 jack and plug so that the customer can plug a working phone into the jack to determine if any problems lie in the customer or network side of the telecommunications system.
Network interface units have recently utilized a layered design in which one layer of devices and their associated cabling is arranged on top of another layer of devices and their associated cabling. Network interface units having layered arrangements, serve well their intended purpose, but because of the ever increasing demands of telecommunication systems the internal wiring density within the network interface unit is constantly increasing making maintenance and installation tasks of the service technician more and more difficult. Increased wiring density is especially noticed in the cabling between the layers of devices of the network interface units. It is desired to have an arrangement for a network interface unit where its layers of the devices may be folded away from each other for easy access thereto and provide a network interface unit that has enclose side-by-side layers of devices therein.